User:Honestshari/Rod W. Larkins (Pastor)

Rod W. Larkins (Pastor) new article content ...

Larkins was born in Illinois in 1970 and became a Christian at the age of 24. Soon after, Larkins attended several revival meetings where R.W. Schambach was preaching, which significantly affected his perspective and subsequent ministry. Larkins is married to Shari and they have two children, Jessica and Elijah.

[edit] Ministry After serving in various ministry roles in Illinois as well as travelling internationally, Rod and Shari moved to Houston Texas and founded The Houston Dream Center. Their passion was to establish an inner city outreach program that would provide assistance and relief to the homeless and to the poor urban neighborhoods and communities around Houston. The Houston Dream Center is affiliated with the LA Dream Center founded by Pastor’s Tommy & Matthew Barnett, and today distributes food, clothing and personal supplies to the needy each week. Four times a year, the HDC conducts ‘Family Freedom Fairs’ to poor neighborhoods and housing complexes which consists of providing free food, music, drama skits, activities, wellness workshops to strengthen the entire family. Pastor Rod also serves as Sr. Pastor for the Well City Church. The WCC is known in Houston and surrounding area for its revival atmosphere and for the ‘Presence’. Larkins believes that a Churches greatest asset is not a program, a specific sermon or particular style of music, but a tangible presence of the LORD. Services are often spontaneous and ‘Holy-Spirit’ driven with the emphasis on following the ‘Lord’s’ leading.’ Christians have travelled from different states just to attend a service and to be able to ‘soak’ in GOD’S presence. Larkins often teaches that the manifestation of God’s power is for today and that signs, wonders and miracles should be a normal part of the believers’ life.

Considered a reputable voice for his studies on the “Spirit of GOD”, Pastor Rod has spent years exploring the depths and recesses of the Holy Spirit with a commission to teach the Body of CHRIST how to live and walk the Spiritual Life. In 2009 began writing his first book which was published in late 2010 by Destiny Image.

In early 2011, Pastor Rod and WWC staff launched a ground-breaking ministry called Stripped™. It is an evangelistic love & compassion outreach initiative exclusively to the sex industry. Each week they reach out to the sex workers in local massage parlors, strip clubs and adult cinemas as well as to the local escort and prostitution services. Larkins says, “one day the Lord spoke and said, “Son, the adult industry needs a shepherd are you interested?” From that moment on, Larkins says, “I knew I could no longer sit and do nothing.” Stripped also launched an online media site that offers a crisis hotline so sex workers can instant chat stripped counselors 24/7. The site also serves as its resource center and media sanctuary for sex workers who will not attend a local Church for fear of being ridiculed or judged by Christian community. Stripped, also offers a counseling program to sex workers, porn addicts and individuals who desire treatment and sobriety from sex addiction. What many are considering to be the future in battling the demand for porn and prostitution, Stripped will officially launch a program called ‘Prodigal’ which reaches out to the ‘John’s’, ‘pimps’ and ‘repeat offenders’ who as Pastor Rod has stated, “is the root cause of a booming sex industry.” Stripped ministries provide a nationwide training program for organizations and like Christian ministries who want to launch similar outreach initiatives in their respective cities and communities.

[edit] Bibliography POSSESSED: Living Abandoned to GOD’S Glory (Destiny Image, December 2010) ISBN-13: 978-0768432763

[edit] References http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEFWNAcah-k “Jesus said Love” http://www.strippedonline.org/main